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Kachkar and Male both lived in the 40-bed Southridge homeless shelter in St. Catharines in late 2010 and early January 2011, court heard.

Kachkar joined a Bible study group there, and interpreted the holy book in an unusual way, Male said. “He was quiet at first but he became more open. He was always polite.”

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During Christmas 2010 Kachkar told Male he wanted to spend time with his two beloved children, who lived nearby with his estranged wife, but he wasn’t allowed to stay with them as long as he wanted, Male said.

He seemed sad and downtrodden and sometimes incoherent, and might have had a mental illness, she said. “He would be talking and then he would stare off into space.”

There is no dispute that on Jan. 12, 2011, Kachkar, 46, stole a snowplow in Toronto and marauded through the city core, smashing cars and killing Russell. The only issue is his state of mind at the time.

A St. Catharines employment counsellor said Kachkar seemed increasingly anxious in first week of January 2011.

“I believe he said he was feeling a bit off,” testified Perry Bartley of The Business Education Council of Niagara, where Kachkar got job training after being laid off.

Nadine Janzen, another employment counsellor at the centre, said she always found him too gracious and apologetic.

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